Don't Let Go
by Fyrewing of CinderClan
Summary: What really happened after Graystripe was saved by Silverstream? How did their forbidden nightly meetings begin? What did Graystripe remember as he lay by her cooling body? Rated T for Silverstream's death. Please, please, please review.


**Yes, this is my one-shot on Graystripe and Silverstream's relationship. I'm using the song Don't Let Go by Bryan Adams. (it's part of the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron album.) If you look at the lyrics it fits perfectly, doesn't it? Anyway, Graystripe and Silverstream have been and always will be my favorite Warriors couple. Enjoy!**

**Oh yeah, and for you poor freaks who don't like stories based around songs, don't worry. This one-shot is a lot more story than song. So please, read. This is really a sweet couple and the song fits perfectly. Only one thing: if you don't like sad endings, don't read.**

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**Graystripe and Silverstream: Don't Let Go**

The smell of the night was wild, exotic. It filled Graystripe's head with ecstatic anticipation. Would she come? Had she remembered? This was so crazy; it was against the warrior code. But, after seeing her sleek silver tabby fur and delicately curved figure, he didn't think he cared anymore.

Shivering with exhilaration, he thought back to earlier that day as he padded along the riverbank. She was such a graceful swimmer - he'd noticed that even as he was struggling for air. And she had saved him, a ThunderClan cat. And her beautiful voice as she whispered in his ear, "_Sunningrocks, tonight,_" so quietly neither of the apprentices or Fireheart had heard her.

Did she struggle to get him out of her head as he did? Did she picture him every second like he did? Did she love him as much as he loved her, even now, so soon?

Sunningrocks glistened pale in the moonlight up ahead. He glanced around, his heart thundering in anticipation, before springing up onto a rock. Then he saw her, a graceful figure silhouetted against the moon, perched on the tallest rock. Silverstream.

Almost against his will, a purr rumbled in his throat. Was it right to feel this way so soon after they had met? But all of his doubts vanished when she jumped down and padded toward him, the same purr emanating from her delicately chiseled muzzle.

_I can't believe this moment's come  
It's so incredible that we're alone_

"Graystripe," she whispered. He purred even louder, in ecstasy, relieved that she had spoken before him. He had no idea what to say - he was so overcome by her pure beauty.

_There's so much to be said and done  
It's impossible not to feel overcome_

The silence stretched unbroken for at least five minutes. Graystripe didn't know what to say - didn't know how to put his feelings into words. He let them out in an ongoing purr as he let his eyes trace her delicate frame. Again he wondered if this was wrong; no, he knew it was wrong. They had met so soon, and she was a RiverClan cat. But now, reveling in her sweet scent, he didn't care.

_Will you forgive me if I feel this way  
'Cause we just met - tell me that's OK_

And this feeling could grow - so much more. So much. He took a tentative step forward, wondering if this was all too good to be true. Wondering if she felt as much for him as he already did for her. "Do you - do you - ?"

"I do," she purred in that silky sweet voice. "I love you, Graystripe."

And that was it. All of his doubts, all of his questions - gone. Just love. A pure emotion, flowing through his veins like the sweetest spring water in the forest. Purring, he stepped forward until he was right in front of her. Then their bodies pressed together, and their tails entwined. He didn't want to let go - never.

_So take this feeling and make it grow  
Never let it - never let it go_

"Don't let go," he murmured, his voice husky. "Don't you let go, Silverstream."

"I won't," she whispered back.

_Don't let go of the things you believe in  
Don't let go of this moment in time  
Don't let go of things that you're feeling  
Don't let go_

Still, one part of him still doubted. It persisted, a nagging voice at the back of his brain, telling him to think of Bluestar, of the warrior code. What would Fireheart say if he saw him now? What would any cat say, besides the one who stood beside him now, the one whose scent he was drinking in like life itself?

_Now would you mind if I bared my soul  
If I came right out and said you're beautiful_

"Silverstream? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," she murmured, burying her slender, pointed muzzle in his grey scruff. For a moment he bit his tongue, holding back the words he had to say - but the image of Fireheart blazed in his mind like a firebrand, and he knew he had to.

"Is - is this wrong? What we're doing?"

"Maybe it is," she murmured, and his heart sank like a stone in a pool. But then it rose again at her next words. "But I don't care. Not with you."

_'Cause there's something here I can't explain  
I feel I'm diving into driving rain_

"Me too," Graystripe purred happily. "That's exactly how I feel. I love you, Silverstream." He marveled at how easy it was to say it now; because he did. It was true, and he didn't care about the implications that followed it.

"I'm sure they'll understand," Silverstream said drowsily. "Later on. When we tell them. Not now, it would be too much of a shock. But later." Her smile helped him relax; it was difficult to worry about anything in her intoxicating presence.

_You get my senses running wild  
I can't resist your sweet, sweet smile_

"Yes," he agreed. "We'll tell them later. But now...we can keep it to ourselves. Enjoy this...peace."

He usually didn't say things like that aloud; he thought them in his head, not even sharing them with his best friend, Fireheart. But with Silverstream, he felt that he didn't need to hide anything. She was like an extension of him; his own twin soul.

_So take this feeling'n make it grow  
__Never let it - never let it go_

And they didn't. They kept it secret from their Clanmates for moons - Fireheart found out, and so did Silverstream's best friend, Mistyfoot, but they both swore not to tell either of their Clans. Graystripe knew he could count on Fireheart to keep his secret, even though his friend disapproved. Fireheart would stand by him whatever he did; he knew that in his heart, even if Fireheart might not just yet.

Moons and moons passed in a glory of exhilaration and neverending love. Graystripe and Silverstream met almost every night, at Sunningrocks or Fourtrees after a while...and every time it was like a taste of the most delicious forbidden fruit. Soon he knew her scent as well as he knew his own Clanmates, and her silver tabby fur was just as familiar as Fireheart's flame-colored pelt.

It all felt the same, and yet he never tired of it...night after night of happiness. And then, suddenly, like a shock of lightning - everything changed.

"I'm pregnant," Silverstream told him. "With your kits."

It was a shock. He couldn't deny it. A thousand thoughts raced through his head, among which foremost were the thoughts of panic. How could they hide it now? What would Silverstream tell her Clanmates? But then he glanced toward his mate and saw the gleaming happiness in her beautiful eyes, and he knew he had to be happy for her sake.

"That's - that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "D - does Mistyfoot know?"

"Not yet, I haven't told her," Silverstream replied, leaning her head on his shoulder as they sat among the brush in the RiverClan camp. "A queen doesn't have to tell her Clanmates who the father is, you know."

"A queen...a queen," he breathed. "My queen."

Silverstream smiled, moving a little closer. "Yes. I'll be your queen...but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Tell Fireheart. He needs to know. I'm going to tell Mistyfoot - we can't keep this from them, Graystripe. We can hide it from everyone else, but not them. Mistyfoot will know who the father is anyway, when she knows I'm pregnant...your best friend should know you're going to be a father."

Graystripe nodded. That was one sacrifice he could make, although he didn't know how Fireheart would react. "Okay. I'll do that."

Everything continued normally for a while after that, but gradually, he started seeing Silverstream less and less as she spent more time in the RiverClan camp. They met only every few nights now, and she told him that she had moved to the queen's den and Mistyfoot was covering up for her when she left to see Graystripe.

In the ThunderClan camp, things were heating up. Fireheart was having a difficult time concealing Graystripe's absences from Tigerclaw, the Clan deputy. Graystripe knew it was dangerous to sneak out so frequently, but he had to. For Silverstream's sake. He didn't know who he cared for most anymore - ThunderClan or his mate.

But he managed to balance everything out in the weeks leading up to Silverstream's due date. They had more tales to tell every time they saw each other - tales of almost being caught, tales of being followed and having to shake off the pursuers from their Clans. But it was okay.

Until one bloodstained day.

Sunningrocks - Graystripe would always remember the way the sunlight had glinted harshly off the sharp edges of the rocks on that day. Seasons after, when he was hunting, he would avoid that spot. He never hunted there again if he could avoid it.

That was where Silverstream died.

The screams - the terrible sound of his mate's agony. "No, Silverstream!" he screamed, adding his own voice to the orchestra of pain. "NO! Silverstream..."

Her breathing was fading, her eyes glazing over...

"Silverstream...don't - let - go..."

His voice was choked with sobs. He couldn't form words anymore, only a raw howl of inner pain. Agony tore at the edges of his mind like an angry beast, forcing bloodred shades over his eyes. Pain...sorrow...grief...

"Don't let go..."

_Don't let go of the things you believe in  
Don't let go of this moment in time  
Don't let go of things that you're feeling  
Don't let go..._

And after Fireheart, Cinderpelt, and Tigerclaw had all left, he remained, his face buried in his mate's fur, still silky smooth like it had been in life, but cold, cold as death.

I was waiting, he thought miserably. I waited for this to be done so we could have our old times back again. I wanted to love you without worrying again, Silverstream.

_I've been waiting all my life  
To make this moment feel so right_

And all night, while the rain poured down on Sunningrocks and soaked both him and the body of his dead mate, he remained there, slumped next to her, trying to pretend that she was alive when all the time he just wanted to curl up and die.

_The feel of you just fills the night  
So c'mon - just hold on tight_

If only. If only.

_Don't let go..._


End file.
